The Legends Episode 1
by LightRayPearlshipper
Summary: After losing to Tobias for the second time in a row, Ash learns of a society that protects legendary pokemon when they are injured while saving the world. He doesn't want to but he is told by Tobias that he must capture one legendary pokemon from each region. However, when he is confronted by fate, will he be able to prove himself strong and survive The Ordeal of Legends? PS


**Me: Hello everyone. Welcome to my second fanfic, The Legends. This is going to be a movie format.**

**Tobias: I'm a star in this fanfic.**

**Ash: Shut up, Tobias! Just because you beat me up in pretty much every battle until the end, doesn't mean you're going to be the main character.**

**Me: Ash, you should shut up before I punch you for giving away the plot. And by the way, Tobias, you are not the main character and this is a Pearlshipping story. I'm such a big Pearlshipper.**

**Dawn: Here we go again. Anyways, can we start the fanfic?**

**Me: No. At least, not yet. We haven't chatted long enough. I need to make more corny jokes and bad puns. Don't even think about giving me the eyes. It doesn't work on me because I am the supreme god, Author.**

**Dawn: *Gives "The Eyes"* Please!**

**Me: No! *Looks straight into Dawn's eyes* I haven't even done the disclaimer. This story is going to be longer than my other one.**

**Tobias: May we begin now?**

**Me: Yes. Please do the honors. *Turns to Dawn* He asked politely and honestly without trying to trick me. You should try some of that stuff.**

**Tobias: Michael does not own us so you don't need to sue him.**

**Me: Much thanks to Infernapeblaze for reviewing my chapters. On with the fanfic!**

*Insert Line Break Here*

"PIKAPIKAPIKAPIKAPIKAPIKAPIKAPI-KA!"

_BOOOOOOOOOOM!_

The crowd craned their necks as a huge explosion resulted from Pikachu's Volt Tackle against Latios' Luster Purge. It was Ash vs Tobias for the second year in a row except this time they were facing off for the championship trophy in the final round. However, this battle was different from their first. In their first battle, Tobias lost Darkrai before winning with Latios getting the double-knockout on Ash's Pikachu winning him the match because Ash didn't have any more Pokemon. Tobias advanced to the finals and took the trophy just using Darkrai. The dust finally cleared giving the audience a clear view of a Pikachu leaning in, fainted, on an also fainted Latios.

"Pikachu and Latios are both unable to battle!" the referee declared. "However, because Ash has no pokemon left to battle and Tobias does, Tobias wins! The victor of this year's Lily of the Valley Conference is Tobias for the second time in a row!

*Insert Line Break Here, opening theme starts*

_Images of Ash and Paul slide against each other in a stadium with a purple sky. Ash throws out a pokeball with Infernape and he jumps into combat with an Entei who is about to launch a fire attack._

It's about you! It's about me!

_Infernape jumps off the screen and flips into Buizel sending a Sonic Boom to where Entei would've been. Darkrai emerges from the explosion and fires a Dark Pulse into a shot of Dawn turning towards the camera with a pink background._

It's about hope.

_Dawn's shot turns into Brock standing on a cliff looking out into the sky._

It's about dreams.

_Brock's shot turns into all of Ash's, Dawn's, and Brock's pokemon with their trainers down on a plain with Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos flying above them. Zapdos flies by revealing Zoey, Nando, Kenny, Jessie in her coordinator's outfit from Sinnoh and some other pink-haired coordinator with a pink background. There is a Ribbon Cup in the background._

It's about friends that work together.

_Jessie, James, and Meowth are shown in space with planets and galaxies in the background. Mew and Rayquaza are flying around them._

To claim their destiny!

_As Deoxys follows Rayquaza, Ho-oh comes from the opposite direction and transitions to the view Brock had earlier with Ash and Pikachu chasing as the sky turns dark to night._

It's about reaching for the skies. Pokemon!

_Torterra's face appears with a blue, rising background followed by Gible and Staraptor._

Given the courage.

_Infernape, Buizel, and Pikachu have the same thing happen._

Willing to try!

_Pachirisu and Piplup pop out of pokeballs on the Grand Festival stage with the Heart Ball capsule. Mamoswine and Cyndaquil do the same as do Togekiss and Buneary._

It's about never giving up.

_The screen transitions to Kyogre coming out of the ocean by the location from The Scuffle of Legends and Lugia appears in front of him._

So hold your head up.

_Groudon bursts from the ground then rises and transitions to a shot with Arceus in the center surrounded by Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Dust blows from behind and underneath and acts as a transition._

And we will carry on… (Sinnoh League Victors!)

_Pikachu jumps out of the smoke and smashed Iron Tail towards the camera. This transitions to a shot of Ash, Dawn and Brock along with all of Ash's pokemon including the ones at Oak's ranch, but not ones traded or in training. They are standing across Nando, Conway, Paul, and Barry with the logo of the series in between the two groups. The original Purple background takes the sky with the silhouettes of all of the pokemon Ash battled on the sidelines. _

Pokemon!

*Insert Line Break here, opening theme ends*

"An amazing battle between these two top trainers!" yelled the MC. "Tobias failed to defeat the Elite Four last year so this year is round two for him!"

"He failed again," said a certain bluenette to her Asian friend sitting next to her. Her name was Dawn.

"However, he did make it to the finals this time. This is his best tournament performance ever," he responded. Brock was his name and he knew Ash ever since he started his pokemon journey back in Kanto as a very immature ten-year-old. "However, this Tobias guy is a real wall in his success. Ash was even thinking about going to Hoenn to refine his skills there (Hint to my fourth story). Either he has to do some serious training or capture his own legendary pokemon to combat Tobias' which I highly doubt he'll do.

"But he's met plenty legendary pokemon before," she quickly retorted. "He should have no problem catching them."

"Dawn, you don't seem to get it. Legendary pokemon only appear when the world is in great peril. They use their amazing powers to protect the world. If they came for other reasons, then greedy humans might try to overpower them to capture them for their own purposes."

"I see."

Back on the field, Tobias and Ash came to the center to shake hands. "Nice battle," Tobias told Ash. "You're getting better. However, I must speak with you in the locker rooms about a very important matter."

Ash, with his raven-head down replied, "Okay." He was very quiet. As they walked off of the field, Tobias started speaking.

"I'm sure you have met many other legendary pokemon other than mine," he began.

"What's your point?" asked Ash.

"Well, I can tell that you're very determined to defeat me."

"Of course I am!"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but without a legendary of your own, you cannot defeat me."

"What do you mean?! The determination of my regular team will overcome the power of your legendary pokemon."

"You do not understand," Tobias retorted. "I am a high ranking member of a secret society known as The Keeper of the Legends. This society studies the legendary pokemon and keeps them safe from greedy humans. These particular legendary pokemon that I wield chose to come with me. Darkrai is nowhere near the strongest member of my team."

"If you're interested in legendary pokemon, then why are you challenging me?" asked a confused Ash.

"That is because you have potential. Our leader, Red, saw potential in you to become a powerful figure in our society. He had me test you except this time, he told me to tell you about us. After all, you were chosen by Lugia in the Orange Islands to protect him from Lawrence the pokemon collector after Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were taken. Not only that, Latios and Latias of Altomare trusts you enough to use their "shared vision" abilities.

"Why – How do you know this stuff?"

"We have our methods. Anyways, you must take these Master Balls," Tobias said, giving Ash the Master Balls. "It is the only pokeball that legendary pokemon will stay in."

"Wait a minute, I never agreed to take your challenge," Ash objected.

"From the moment you stepped into our first semi-final match, you accepted the challenge. First go to Kanto and seek out Mew," Tobias instructed.

"Hey, I'm still not done. How am I supposed to fight the creator, Mew? And how did you get these Master Balls?" Ash asked.

"Red is also the CEO of Silph Co., the creator of pokeballs located in Saffron City of Kanto. You are forbidden access to the building. You fight Mew with your most powerful pokemon. Mew will be waiting for you in the place you last met. You cannot resist. Fate's plans are already in motion." And with that, the mysterious member of The Keeper of the Legends walked away.

'_How did I get stuck in this mess?' _Ash asked himself. _'This means going back to Kanto. Good memories from my first journey .' _Ash reached the main lobby where his friends were waiting for him. They hadn't spotted him yet.

"I wonder what's taking him so long," Dawn said to Brock. "Oh, there he is!" she said after spotting him.

"Ash, you look really down," Dawn said. "Tell us what's wrong."

'_Why is she looking at me like that,'_ Ash thought.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Ash?" Brock asked.

"I'm going to Kanto after this is all over," Ash told them.

"Why?" Brock asked.

"That's great!" Dawn exclaimed. "I was planning on going there too for the Kanto Grand Festival. I heard that they're starting contests there. We can still travel together."

"No," Ash told her. "I need to go to this place alone. Brock do you remember the Tree of Beginning and Lady Ilene?"

"Yeah, is this about Lucario?" Brock asked.

"No. This is about Mew," Ash replied.

"Ash, you're not seriously thinking about-"

"Yes I am," Ash replied. Ash looked deadly serious.

"Ash, look here. You don't just go catching legendary pokemon just because you want to."

"Brock, this isn't just desire and greed for power," Ash told him. "It's true I need to counteract Tobias but he also told me that Mew is waiting for me there." Ash began telling his friends about his conversation with Tobias.

After he finished, Brock simply nodded. "Ash you need to get to the stadium for the closing ceremony!" Dawn said, breaking the momentary silence.

"That's right!" Brock agreed. They went their separate ways once more.

Ash waited through the speeches with all of the other trainers that participated in the Sinnoh league that year. Finally the trophy was presented to Tobias.

"And finally let's give a big hand to our Sinnoh league champion, Tobias and wish him luck in his second attempt to defeat the Elite Four!" cried Mr. Goodshow. The crowd gave a big round of applause as the trophy was presented.

"I thank you all for attending this year's Lily of the Valley Conference," Cynthia, the Sinnoh region champion, said. "And now let this year's Lily of the Valley Conference come to an official end as we customarily let our champion douse the fighting flames of Ho-oh." Tobias went to the alter and put out the flames. "We hope to see you again next year!"

The stadium adjourned and everyone went their ways. Ash, Dawn and Brock met up in the hallways. Dawn tackled him with a hug causing him to blush fiercely.

'_Oh my gosh, Dawn is hugging me!' _ Ash though. "Ummm, Dawn. What was that for?"

'_He's so cute when he blushes,' _Dawn though. "That was for being a great friend and for making it to the finals," she replied, also blushing, realizing she had just hugged him.

"Thanks," Ash replied, "but it's time to go to Kanto."

The next morning, Ash, Dawn, and Brock left for Twinleaf Town. During their journey back, there was little action except Buneary evolving into Lopunny and Gible finally evolving in Gabite. They arrived a week later in Twinleaf Town. Dawn knock on the door of her house.

"Mom!" she called. "I'm back!" The door swung open violently revealing Dawn's mother, Johanna.

"Dawn, honey," she said with excitement. "Come on in with your friends. You came before I started dinner so we can chat." She turned to Ash. "So I finally get to meet you in person," she said with a wink. "You better take good care of my daughter or I might take away your princess."

Ash blushed. "Uhhh, we're not like that," he replied, rushed and embarrassed. "Not like that at all. Just friends. No need to worry."

Dawn looked saddened when she heard what Ash said but luckily nobody noticed. "Ash, as a mother, I can tell when a boy likes my daughter," she whispered as for Dawn not to hear. "It also doesn't help your case that your using her line."

"Uhhh, ma'am, may we go in now?" asked Brock. "It's starting to get cold outside."

"Oh, sorry. You may come in. I didn't realize I was blocking the doorway."

As they made their way over to the living room, Ash's stomach growled and he gave a small, sheepish grin to show he was fine. "Sorry about that," he said.

"Actually, it is dinner time so I'm okay with it. I need to get cooking," Johanna replied.

"Mom, can we all talk?" Dawn asked. "Brock is a really good chef and he can fix us some stew for dinner. He cooked pretty much all of our meals while we were traveling."

"Alright Dawn. Just please don't give me the eyes."

"I'll get cooking," said Brock.

Ash, Dawn, and Johanna sat down with Pikachu in Ash's lap. They talked about their journey through Sinnoh, all of the funny and weird moments, great battles, and of course the Grand Festival and Sinnoh League. Eventually, the conversation drifted to Ash and Tobias.

"So you're going to look for Mew in Kanto next?" asked Johanna.

"Yup that's right. Apparently, fate will be helping out," Ash said. "It doesn't feel right, though. I'm talking about capturing legendary pokemon. There's a reason why they're legendary and they should be left alone. I don't agree with Tobias but I must do this and even if I refuse, fate will make things go in its favor."

"Speaking of going to Kanto, can I travel with him more, mom?" Dawn asked. "Apparently Kanto is getting into the contest groove as well."

"I don't know," Johanna replied. "According to Ash, the tree has natural defenses that curt seriously hurt you. It's dangerous."

"Please," Dawn begged, giving her the eyes.

"Oh, fine. Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I see even you can't resist the power of the eyes," Ash commented.

Johanna simply laughed. "It wasn't always like this. I used to be able to resist but I guess my natural defenses have worn off from being away from the eyes."

"Dinner is ready!" Brock called from the kitchen. He set his signature stew dish on the table ready to be eaten.

Ash inhaled his dinner as usual while the rest of them ate at a regular pace.

"This stew is really good," said Johanna. "It might even be better than mine." She winked at Brock.

"Thank you Ms. Berlitz," Brock replied.

"Mom, they don't have a place to stay for tonight. Could they stay here for tonight?" asked Dawn.

"Fine," said Johanna. She obviously didn't want the eyes again.

"Thanks, Dawn," Ash and Brock said.

"However," Johanna continued, "We only have two bedrooms. Ash will have to sleep in Dawn's room and Brock and I will have to share my queen bed.

"Agh! How can I sleep in the same room as Ash, mom! That's… weird."

"Dawn, like you said, you two are just friends and it's only for one night." Johanna had just scored a victory.

"Okay." Dawn surrendered. She turned to Ash. "When you get up, hopefully my hair will already be fixed, but if it's not, then get out of the room as soon as possible.

"Awww, worried your new boyfriend won't like you if he sees your bedhead?" teased Johanna. Ash blushed at this comment.

"Mom! He's just a friend!"

"Alright, if you say so."

They finished the rest of their meal in relative silence. Finally it was time for bed. As Brock thought about sharing the bed with Johanna, he realized how awkward that would be. Ash would have to sleep in his sleeping bag since Dawn's bed was too small for two people. However, after they all got washed up, Ash couldn't sleep. His face was practically crimson red. So he went outside onto the balcony to get some fresh air. What he didn't know was that Dawn couldn't sleep either and had followed him.

'_Fate sure can pull some nasty tricks, can it,' _Ash thought. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked a voice behind him. Ash jumped in surprise.

"Dawn! I didn't know you were still awake."

"I couldn't sleep," she replied. Although Ash didn't notice because it was dark, Dawn was blushing heavily right now.

"Really?" he asked. "I couldn't either."

"Ash?"

"Yeah?

"What's really on your mind right now?

'_Darn it,' _Ash thought. _'She saw right through me.'_ "Nothing," he said.

"Ash stop lying to me. I can see right through you."

"I'm not lying Dawn. Seriously."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Am not."

"Are too." He paused realizing what he just said. "Darn it, you got me. But still, I'm not."

"Ash, I'm your friend. You can tell me anything."

"Not this time."

Dawn put her hand on his shoulder and turned him towards her making Ash blush. "Tell me please," she said giving him the eyes.

"You know that's not fair, but fine. There was this girl that I traveled with in Kanto. Her name was Misty Waterflower. She was really annoying to me and was constantly hitting me with a mallet."

"No wonder you're IQ is so low," Dawn remarked. She laughed which got Ash laughing too. However, she could tell this was a lie. Even so, she let it slide and let Ash off for the night. "Let's go back inside now. Your head should be clearer now that you've let out your problem. I'll even sleep on the floor in my sleeping bag next to you." She said the last part slightly seductively.

Ash blushed for something like the fifth time this day. "Sure."

He was finally able to relax and went back inside. As Dawn snuggled up next to him, he fell into a deep sleep.

*Insert Line Break here*

Ash woke up with something on top of his chest. He stared at it for a moment before realizing it was Dawn! Just as he was about to move her head off of him, he remembered last night. But then he realized the clock read 10:00.

'_Shoot!'_ he thought to himself. _'We're gonna be late for the ferry!'_

"Ash! Dawn!" a voice called from downstairs. "Wake up or you both will be late for the ferry!" As the voice yelled this, Dawn stirred from her sleep.

"Just 5 more minutes, Mom," she said, using Ash's line.

"Dawn, wake up or we'll miss the ferry to Kanto," Ash said. "It's already 10:00." As he said this Dawn's eyes shot wide open.

"Agh! Get out of the room, Ash" she yelled. "Don't look at my hair!" She literally kicked him out of the room to fix her hair from last night's terrors. Because he couldn't do anything else, and because he was hungry, Ash lumbered downstairs for breakfast. Ash was always hungry.

"Good morning Ash," said a cheerful Johanna. "Where's Dawn? She really needs to hurry up."

"She's in her bathroom doing girl stuff," Ash replied.

"Oh, okay. In the meantime, have some breakfast," Johanna said, giving him a plateful of Oran Berry Pancakes.

"Oran Berry Pancakes! My favorite!" yelled an ecstatic Ash.

"Glad you like them," Johanna said with a sly smile. "It's my daughter's favorite too, you know? I decided to make something special since it was the only meal her mother was going to cook for a while for her." Just then, Brock walked in.

"Good morning, Ash," he said.

"Morning."

Upstairs Dawn had heard Ash's outburst and rushed to finish her hair so she could go downstairs for her favorite food. However, it had become more and more resistant to Piplup's Bubblebeam after about a year of being fired at. This morning, it was taking an especially long time.

"Whatever," Dawn said. "I don't want to do this, but Piplup, use Hydro Pump on my hair!"

Piplup looked shocked for a second because Hydro Pump was such a high-power move but had a change of heart when he saw Dawn's hair problem and angry mood. Luckily, he toned down the power enough so that Dawn's head didn't crash into her mirror. After that, Dawn's hair was obedient. A couple of minutes later, Dawn was downstairs inhaling her stack of Oran Berry Pancakes.

"Umm, this is really good, Mom," she said as she came up for air.

"Yeah, you're right," Ash agreed.

"Well you two better finish up quick. Brock already finished breakfast and wants to go now. It's already 11:00."

"Agh!" Ash yelled in surprise for the second time this morning. "The ferry leaves at 12! C'mon, Dawn, hurry up!"

"I'm eating as fast as I can, Ash," Dawn said, frustrated. After a couple more minutes, she was done. "Done!" she announced.

"Finally. You took longer than me to eat and that's saying something. Now let's head over to Sandgem Town to catch the boat."

"Make sure you have everything," Johanna said.

"No need to worry, mom," Dawn replied. "I double-checked everything before we went to sleep last night and checked again while I was fixing my hair."

"That's a first. No wonder you took so long."

Dawn blushed, embarrassed. "Let's go now."

"Okay." Ash turned to Brock. "You ready?"

"Ready when you are," replied his long-time friend.

"Then it's to Kanto we go! Thanks a lot for giving us a place to stay for the night."

"By mom, I'll call you when we get to Kanto."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Dawn looked at Brock strangely. "There's no need to be so formal. It's just my mom." Dawn turned to her mom. "Bye."

"See you, Ms. Berlitz!" Ash called. As they said their goodbyes they headed towards Sandgem Town to the docks where their ferry was waiting. However, when they looked at the clock at the dock they saw that the time read 11:55.

"Agh! We're not gonna make it!" Dawn cried, alarmed.

"Let's run!" Ash said in response. As the trio sprinted towards the boat that read "SS Sinto", they quickly flashed their tickets to the gate guard before running onto the main deck just as the boat rang its bell signaling its departure from the Sinnoh port.

"Phew, that was close," Brock remarked.

"Yeah, maybe if you woke us up earlier, we would've had time to spare," Ash shouted at his Asian friend. However, he was calmed down when Dawn put a hand on his trembling arm.

"Ash, we should be grateful that I thought of Piplup using Hydro Pump on my hair to fix it so we could get here," Dawn joked. "Besides, we both took a while on breakfast." By this time, Ash had calmed down but Dawn kept talking. "At least we made it on the boat. No need to worry."

"That's when I worry the most," Ash replied, now smiling. But his expression turned solemn again. "If only we had Charizard here," he mumbled with a sigh.

"What was that?" Dawn asked.

"Nothing." Ash entered a state of deep thought.

"Okay, if you say so. But what are you thinking about?"

"Just stuff, like seeing my old pals again."

"Then shouldn't you be happy?" she asked him. "If I hadn't seen my team for a long time and I was just seeing them again, I would be super excited."

Ash began to cheer up a little. "You're right," he said with a smile, making Dawn blush a little because he was facing her. She quickly looked away to hide her blush. "Shouldn't we have lunch now?" he asked. "It's been a long time since we ate breakfast at your mom's house."

"I guess so. Let's head over to the restaurant after we fetch Brock."

When they headed to their assigned room, they noticed Brock was dressing up. "What are you dressing up for? Trying to impress some ladies at the restaurant," teased Ash.

"Actually, for once, no," Brock replied. "The restaurant on the SS Sinto is quite high-end. After all, this is a modern cruise ship."

"That's right!" Dawn exclaimed. "How could I forget about it? I read about this new ship having great food in the Sinnoh Weekly back in Jubilife City." However realizing that she wasn't wearing nice enough clothes, she started to panic. "Oh no! I didn't pack for a situation like this!"

"Dawn, you packed your contest dress," Ash said. "No need to worry, you can just wear that."

Dawn sighed in relief as she told the boys to get out of the room while she got dressed. After about thirty minutes, she walked out of the room in her long, pink contest dress with the matching loose-bun hairstyle. Ash stared at her, making her blush.

'_She's so beautiful,' _Ash thought.

"Umm, Ash, could you please stop staring at me?" said Dawn.

Ash lowered his cap, hiding the blush that he felt coming. "Sorry," he said.

"It's your turn to get dressed."

Ash walked into the room with Brock following him. At first he was confused, but he soon realized why Brock was in the room.

"You don't have a suit, so you can borrow one of mine," his friend said opening his bag while pulling out some clothes.

"Thanks, Brock. You're a life-saver," replied Ash while putting the clothes on.

As they headed towards the restaurant on the third floor, they received many strange glances until they reached the restaurant entrance. It was truly grand with royal purple draperies at the entrance, tables with couples dimly lit by candles, and a fancy receptionist's desk. As they were standing in line, Ash suddenly got a flashback of him losing to Ritchie in the Indigo League because Charizard wouldn't listen to him for some strange reason but it passed quickly. As soon as Brock saw the receptionist, he went into love mode.

"My dearest love, may you accept my heart and soul as I… make a full recovery…" Brock had been punched by Croagunk again.

The waiter made a sweat-drop with a worried face. "Don't mind him," Dawn reassured. "He's always like that, but he never learns his lesson."

"Hello, and welcome to Sinto Suites Royal. How many?"

"A table for 3, please," Ash said.

"Wait should be about 5 minutes."

"Thank you."

They waited around, talking about Ash's and Brock's time at Cameron Palace by The Tree of Beginning. But Ash had the flashback again and this time, he doubled over. Brock noticed this.

"Are you okay, Ash?" he asked his friend.

"Yeah, no need to worry," Ash replied.

"That's when-" Dawn began.

"You worry the most," Ash finished. "I know that's when you do, but seriously, I'm fine." Ash didn't look like it and Dawn was about to say something, but just then the receptionist called their name.

"Ketchum, table for 3!" she said.

"Right over hear," Ash replied as he took Dawn's hand helping her up. Soon Ash realized what he was doing and blushed. This made Dawn blush as well. They simply stared at each other in embarrassment until Brock took both of their ears and dragged them to follow their receptionist.

As they walked through the restaurant, Ash took glances at different people for no particular reason. Just as the receptionist was about to say something, Ash saw someone familiar. He was wearing a green vest over and olive green shirt with green pants that had a yellow streak. Next to him were a blue and yellow pokemon league cap and a napping Pikachu. Him and the girl sitting across from him were getting a lot of attention because they weren't wearing clothes that fit the restaurant's atmosphere.

"Here you are," the hostess said, but the words bounced off of his ears like it would to deaf people.

"Ash, sit down," Dawn told him.

"Ash, hello?" Brock asked. "Earth to Ash!" Then he saw where Ash was staring. "Isn't that…"

"Ritchie!" Ash called, beating Brock to the chase as he dashed over to his friend/rival.

Ritchie looked up. "Ash?" he asked. "It's really you! Long time no see." He stood up and gave Ash a friendly hug. In the meantime, Brock had walked over to the two boys with Dawn leaving a confused hostess in the wake.

"It's been a while," Brock said as the two boys separated. "But what were you doing in Sinnoh?"

"Brock, who is this?" asked a confused Dawn.

"Oh, sorry, Dawn. This is Ritchie, an old friend of mine," Ash said. "I lost to him in the top 16 of the Indigo league and last I saw him, we were in Johto somewhere." Ash turned to the girl who was with him. "Who is this?" Ash asked to Ritchie.

"Well now that I'm all caught up with your current party, I guess I can introduce you to my girlfriend, Kim," he replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello," Kim said with an Asian accent while shaking hands with everyone. "My name is Kim and I'm a coordinator." She was wearing clothing pretty close to what Ritchie was wearing minus the hat. However, her clothes were in the color of red and navy blue. She had very dark eyes and straight, black hair.

"We actually just sat down," Ritchie said. "How'd you like to eat with us?"

"Sure, but there would be five us and I don't want to waste a table just on myself," Brock commented. "I'll just sit on my own somewhere, maybe flirt with some girls."

"Hah, don't counted on it," Ash laughed. "Croagunk will get you before you make any advances." But Brock simply walked away to do his business.

Ash and Dawn pulled over the table and chairs and sat down next to Richie and Kim. When the waiter came over not long after, he was surprised at the increased party, but before he said anything, Ritchie explained. "They're just some friends."

The waiter nodded and took their orders. Soon, he left and they started talking.

"So, what were you two doing in Sinnoh?" Dawn asked.

Kim was about to say something, but Ritchie answered. "She does contests. Unfortunately, we arrived in Sinnoh a bit late in the season and she wasn't able to complete the circuit with five ribbons."

"Then why did you stay in Sinnoh until after the Sinnoh League?" Ash asked.

"It's because we kind of went all over the place. I couldn't get all eight badges, but we went around seeing historical monuments." They kept talking about different things until the food arrived. Ash had ordered pretty much everything on the menu and it was no surprise to Dawn when he started digging in like a machine.

"How does he manage to do that?" Kim asked in wonder.

"It's even more amazing how he managed to capture the heart of a fine young maiden like Dawn with those manners," Ritchie joked.

Ash was oblivious to what Ritchie just said, but Dawn heard him and blushed.

"What makes you think-" Dawn started.

"You two are a couple?" Ritchie finished. "It's quite clear that you like Ash," he said in a lower voice. "Also, you two look cute together. However, the only thing that stands in your way is his dense skull. You seem like the kind of person who could break through, though." Ritchie began to think more than eat although he had already finished his dinner.

Ash eventually finished his mountain of food and they started talking again. When they paid for the check, however, the waiter said that it was already covered for.

"Hmm, seems like the kind of thing that Brock would do," Dawn remarked.

"Anyways, Ritchie, remember how you beat me in the Indigo league way back?" Ash asked. He nodded so Ash continued. "I want a rematch tonight."

"You sure about that?" Dawn asked. "I think that tomorrow would be better. After all, it's night time right now."

"No need to worry," Ash said. "The battlefield is on the roof and we can turn on the lights outside."

"You're on."

They headed up the elevator to the battle deck where a field with a stream and some grass was waiting.

"I'll be the judge," Dawn said.

"Fine by me. You okay with it, Ash?"

"Yeah. Normally Brock would referee our battles but he's tired." After dinner, Brock had gone back to the room after paying for both of the checks. It was quite expensive considering how much Ash ate.

"This will be a three-on-three battle between Ash of Pallet Town and Ritchie! Substitutions are allowed. Begin!"

"Geez, Dawn, you don't have to be so formal," Ash commented.

"Well, it's kind of fun to be formal and you did say that this was a rematch from an official pokemon league tournament battle," Dawn retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Whatever," he replied. "Sceptile, I choose you!"

"Scep… tile!"

"Zippo, it's your turn!" Ritchie called. The pokeball opened in mid-air and out came a Charizard.

"So Zippo evolved. Sceptile, return!" Ash called back the wood gecko into its pokeball. "Charizard, I choose you!"

"Zippo, use flamethrower!"

"Counter with a flamethrower of your own!"

The two streams of flame flew into each other. Both attacks pushed at each other and soon there was an explosion.

"Charizard fly at Zippo and grab him," Ash whispered to the dragon.

"Zippo, flap your wings to clear away the dust!" Zippo's wings flapped madly, but not before Charizard charged out, grabbing him.

"Char!" Zippo cried.

"Use seismic toss!" Ash yelled to Charizard.

"Zippo, no!" Ritchie could only watch as Charizard flew up and started spinning around in a circle. Then, he got an idea.

"Zippo, spin in tune with Charizard and start rotating your body."

"Charizard, fly down fast!" Charizard started descending but it was too late.

"Now, Zippo, fly off of Charizard!"

Charizard roared as it got hit by a follow up flamethrower attack. However, it was able to stabilize itself in the air.

"Use flamethrower!"

"You too, Zippo."

"Fire Blast!" Charizard let his flamethrower attack up for a short time, letting Zippo's flamethrower head towards him, but it was soon pushed back by Fire Blast which exploded in Zippo's face. Zippo started falling towards the ground where Charizard picked him up.

"Finish this! Seismic Toss!"

Charizard began his signature "Around-the-world" spin charge-up for seismic toss. Then, he flew down and threw Zippo to the ground. When the dust cleared, Zippo was unconscious with Charizard standing in front of Ash.

"Zippo is unable to battle. Charizard is the winner!" Dawn announced.

"Come on, Ritchie, you can do it!" Kim called. Dawn looked a little annoyed as she was taking her place and using it for Ritchie.

"Zippo, return," Ritchie said as he held out his pokeball for Zippo to go back into. "Good job and have a good rest," he then whispered to the pokeball. "I'm quite surprised that the floor held up after that attack." He began thinking about his next choice. _'I can't choose Happy because I'm at a severe disadvantage. So I guess'_

"I choose you, Cruise!" A Tyranitar popped out of a gray pokeball with blue bubbles on the sides.

"Tyranitar!" he cried in dignity.

"Well, looks like Cruise evolved," Ash noted. "Charizard, return. You've had your fight with Zippo." He thought about his next pokemon for a second, and then sent out Sceptile from earlier.

"Sceptile," he said, putting a twig in his mouth coolly.

"Begin!" Dawn said.

"You know, type advantages aren't everything," Ritchie told Ash.

"I know that from experience," he replied. "There's another reason why I chose Sceptile."

"Start things off with Dark Pulse!"

Tyranitar formed a black ball and sent it towards Sceptile but he wasn't there.

"Now counter with Leaf Blade!" Ash yelled in triumph.

"Cruise, dodge!" But because Cruise was so slow compared to Sceptile, he couldn't get out of the way in time. Thanks to his heavy armor, the fall didn't hurt too bad, but it still hurt. Sceptile recovered to his former position, in front of Ash.

"Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!" The attack landed, but it hardly did a scratch.

"Ha!" Ritchie said. "Now run over to Sceptile and use Ice Punch!" Cruise ran frighteningly fast for a Tyranitar and caught Ash of guard so Sceptile was hit head-on with the super-effective attack.

"Sceptile, no!" But Ritchie already ordered a follow-up Dark Pulse. There was a large explosion as the attack made contact. Dust was everywhere and one wouldn't be able to see anything. When it cleared, Sceptile was on the ground.

"Come on, Sceptile, you can do it?" Ash cheered.

"Sceptile is una-" Dawn started.

"Tile," Sceptile said weakly. Ash's words of encouragement had reached his ears and given him the will to stand. Then, he stood up, evidently extremely hurt, and started to grow green.

"Alright, you activated Overgrow!" Ash said. Ritchie simply stood there, stunned. He was snapped back into reality when Ash made a move.

"Sceptile, finish this! Solarbeam!" Even though it was nighttime, he managed to charge up enough energy for the powerful grass move and fired. The attack hit its mark and Cruise was knocked out.

"Cruise is unable to battle. Sceptile is the winner!"

"Return," Ritchie simply said. "Sparky, let's go!" His Pikachu came out of his pokeball and into a battle stance.

"Sceptile, return. You did good, buddy." Ash turned to Pikachu. "You're up, Pikachu. I know you've wanted this rematch for a long time and now you get it."

"Pika!"

"Sparky let's start this off with a thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt too!" The two jagged bolts of thunder struck each other in mid-air between the two electric mice. The power appeared even at first, but slowly Pikachu gained the advantage and hit Sparky with the thunderbolt attack. "Now follow it up with Quick Attack into Iron Tail!"

Pikachu was literally a blur as he advanced on Sparky. Nobody could see him except Ash and Pikachu. In less than one second, he was above Sparky with his tail as hard as iron. Then he slammed his tail down just before Ritchie could call out a command to Sparky. As Pikachu retreated, the counter move was called.

"Use Discharge," Ritchie said. Sparky gathered a large amount of electricity inside his body and let it all out. Once the glow from the large, electric discharge went away, it showed Pikachu with severe damage. He had multiple bruises over his small body.

'_Uh-oh, we gotta end this quick before Pikachu takes too much damage. That discharge attack is serious business and I should probably teach Pikachu that move too,'_ Ash thought.

"Let's wrap this up, Pikachu. Volt Tackle!"

"Sparky, you too!"

The two Pikachu's charge up their electric reserves to create two yellow auras to surround the mice. Then, in the center of the battlefield, they hit each other. There was a struggle for power resulting in the normal explosion. After what seemed like hours to Ash, which was only a few minutes in reality, the dust cleared away to reveal an injured Pikachu just barely standing over the fainted form of Sparky.

"Sparky is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner. The victory goes to Ash," Dawn announced. Then she stepped down from the mini-podium that had suspiciously not been there earlier to congratulate Ash on his victory.

Ash ran over to Pikachu who was hurt. "We should get him healed up before we do anything else. Anyways, nice battle, Ritchie. You really have gotten stronger. However, you couldn't beat me."

"Pi," Pikachu agreed weakly.

"Hey Ash, it's getting pretty late now," Ritchie started. "How about we retire for tonight? The captain said that the ship should arrive my morning."

"Well, I was thinking about training a little more, but…" Ash got interrupted by a yawn, "I think I'm a little tired for that now." He turned to Dawn. "I'm gonna go downstairs back to the room and hit the hay."

Just as he was about to walk out of hearing range, Ritchie said something to Dawn. "Ooh, sharing a room, are we?" he remarked with a smirk causing Dawn to blush.

"Don't get naughty thoughts, Ritchie," Kim said coming up to him.

"I'm gonna follow his lead," Dawn said. "Good night."

Ritchie was still laughing as the blunette walked away.

*Insert Line Break Here*

**Me: And done! Sorry if the end felt kind of rushed, but I really want to get this story going. I come back later to change it, though.**

**Ash: I'm gonna hold you to that. The quality sure dropped.**

**Me: Well I just wanted to get this out.**

**Dawn: It looks like your chapter length has really improved.**

**Ash: Yeah, it's really long.**

**Me: … That's what she said.**

**Ash: What do you mean by that?**

**Me: … Nevermind. You don't need to know. Anyways, I'm really trying to get the chapters longer.**

**Ash: Whatever. Bring me food!**

**Dawn: So you're in the mood for food today, aren't you. Okay. *Walks off with Ash for food***

**Me: *Sweat drops* Well that was strange. Anyways, please review and favorite if you like it. Don't forget to R&R. I honestly have no idea what that means. Whatever. Michael out**

**Ritchie and Kim: We want more screen time!**


End file.
